Oh, Those Yankees

So on Easter I got into a semi-heated debate with my cousin about the Yankees. I am of the opinion that you pull for the teams that are in your area, in good and bad, kind of like marriage. My cousin said you can pull for whoever you want for whatever reason you want. He likes the Yankees because he likes Derek Jeter (right). I on the other hand despise the Yankees and their overrated captain. Anyway, I saw an article in the NY Post the other day about how Jeter has something 6 errors already this year. I felt it was my duty to email this to my cousin. My cousin surprised me by sending me a really long email detailing why the Yankees are so great and what they need to do to improve. I was impressed by his knowledge of "his" team.

I hate Yankees for many reasons, including but not limited too:

-Derek Jeter
-Media's obsession with the team, city, management, etc.
-The Boss
-Their payroll.
-Roger Clemens
-Tim McCarver and Joe Buck saying how great they are every year.
-Yankee Stadium
-Their boring rivalry with Boston
-That they are picked to win it all every year.
-Mr. October, Mr. November, et al.

But you know what? I love all of those things to. It gives me someone to root against every year. Baseball would be significantly less entertaining without them. Who would I have to root against every October? Where would I put my hate and frustration. Maybe the Yankees play an important role in my being able to function in society? The point is, I want them to be good every year. I want them to steal most of the good players from teams who cannot afford to pay them what the Yankees pay them. I want Derek Jeter to be overrated. I want it all. I need it all.

Please, don't confuse me as a fan, it's the opposite. I do despise them. I want their fans to be arrogant and I want them in every city, flapping their mouths. I was at both playoff games against the Yankees at Comerica Park last fall. I shared with those afterwards that that weekend in Detroit was in the top five memories of my entire life. Game three was the first in Detroit, the series was tied at 1 apiece. The first thing I noticed at the ballpark that night was the shear volume of Yankee fans in the ballpark. It was sick. They were all on cellphones talking about the impending Yankee victory, I was seething. That night, the Tigers took it to the Yankees. Did that shut up their fans? Nope. They all were saying, 'wait until tomorrow.' So I waited until tomorrow and you could just feel it in the stadium, they had no chance. They were finished. That was such a great feeling.

I think I read in Bill Simmons' book, "Now I Can Die in Peace" about how when the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the playoffs or in years before when the Yankees would beat the Red Sox in the playoffs, it was like, that was it. It was over. The battle was won (above). Since you got past the enemy your goals were complete. That's how I felt. That's why, despite losing to the Cardinals in the World Series, last year was amazing. It was amazing, in large part, because they beat the Yankees. Beat the Yankees.